I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again - iSnare Free Encyclopedia I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again Genre 3 April 1964 (1964-04-03) to 23 December 1973 (1973-12-23) No. of episodes 104 [1] [2] I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (often abbreviated as ISIRTA) is a BBC radio comedy programme that originated from the Cambridge University Footlights revue Cambridge Circus . It had a devoted youth following, with live recordings being more akin to a rock concert than a comedy show, a tradition that continued to I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue . The pilot programme and Series 1 were broadcast on the BBC Home Service . [3] Series 2–9 were broadcast on the BBC Light Programme (renamed BBC Radio 2 in September 1967). It was first broadcast on 3 April 1964, the pilot programme having been broadcast on 30 December 1963 under the title "Cambridge Circus".

The ninth series was transmitted in November and December 1973. An hour-long 25th anniversary show was broadcast in 1989. It is comically introduced as "full frontal radio". I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue , a spinoff panel game show, was first produced in 1972. The title of the show comes from a sentence commonly used by BBC newsreaders following an on-air flub : "I'm sorry, I'll read that again." Having the phrase used to recover from a mistake as the title of the show set the tone for the series as an irreverent and loosely produced comedy show. [1] Contents 9 External links Cast Tim Brooke-Taylor (later one of the three members of The Goodies ). He has written humorous books on various subjects, including cricket and golf. He was a member of the cast of the television comedy series At Last the 1948 Show with John Cleese (and Graham Chapman and Marty Feldman ), and later appeared in Feldman's television comedy series Marty . He has acted in many other television sitcoms, and appeared in the 1970s BBC radio sketch show Hello, Cheeky!

with John Junkin and Barry Cryer , later translated to ITV. John Cleese (later part of Monty Python and star of Fawlty Towers ; formed his own production company Video Arts to make business training films, which contained much Python-esque/Basil Fawlty-style humour, as well as making films including A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures ). On the 25th anniversary show he did his famous silly walk — it made terrible radio — and sang "The Ferret Song". He appeared in At Last the 1948 Show with Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Chapman and Marty Feldman , and was co-writer with Graham Chapman of several episodes of the Doctor in the House television comedy series. In later series Cleese was often absent, due to his appearances in Monty Python; in the sleeve notes to the BBC's re-issues of the shows on cassette, his absences were explained as "[having] ranting commitments elsewhere". Graeme Garden (also one of the three members of The Goodies ).

He is a qualified medical doctor, and was co-writer with Bill Oddie of several episodes of the medical comedy Doctor in the House on ITV (appearing in the episode "Doctor on the Box" as a television presenter). He also appeared as Commander Forrest in the Yes Minister television episode "The Death List". He was a member of I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again from the start. At the same time, he was studying medicine in London. Because he did a midwifery medical course in Plymouth , he was unable to be a member of the cast of ISIRTA during the third series, due to the distance between London and Plymouth which made commuting to record the shows impossible. However, Graeme kept sending scripts for the radio show by mail - and rejoined the cast upon his return to his medical studies in London. David Hatch (who went on to executive positions within the BBC , including the top position of Controller of BBC Radio 4 ). As was common in BBC radio at that time, Hatch served both as the show's announcer and as a cast member (similar to Douglas Smith 's role in Round the Horne ; Hatch however did give his roles some characterisation, in contrast to Smith's totally deadpan style).

Hatch's announcements were frequently lampooned or interrupted by other cast members. In the 25th Anniversary special, Hatch invited the audience to join them again in 25 years time - ironically, by 2014 Hatch would be the only cast member to have died. Jo Kendall (a radio actress in many straight dramas subsequently; also appeared in the equally popular radio comedy series The Burkiss Way ). She also guest starred (as the voice of The Queen) in The Goodies 1980 episode " Goodies and Politics ". Bill Oddie (also one of the three members of The Goodies ). He has written many books, and has been an important spokesman on wildlife and ecological issues since the 1980s. Bill Oddie wrote and performed a daft but well-crafted song in the middle of most ISIRTA programmes. He was co-writer (with Graeme Garden) of several episodes of the Doctor in the House television comedy series. Humphrey Barclay was the producer of ISIRTA until 1968; from April that year the task was shared by David Hatch and Peter Titherage .

In 1973, production was shared by David Hatch with John Cassels (for six episodes) and with Bob Oliver Rodgers (for two episodes). Music for the links and songs was provided by Dave Lee and his band. Influence As well as giving rise to The Goodies team, ISIRTA shows the roots of Monty Python team very clearly, with Cleese, Chapman and Eric Idle all regular script contributors. The show's creator Humphrey Barclay went on to create the TV show Do Not Adjust Your Set , featuring the rest of the Python team. ISIRTA's roots can be traced back to classic radio comedies like ITMA , The Goon Show and Round the Horne. As with Round the Horne , the cast's adventures would sometimes be episodic with cliff-hanger endings each week as with "The Curse of the Flying Wombat" (3rd series), and "Professor Prune And The Electric Time Trousers" (7th series). Christmas specials normally included a spoof of a traditional pantomime (or several combined).

They had few qualms about the use of puns – old, strained or inventive – and included some jokes and catchphrases that would seem politically incorrect by the mid-1990s. Garden's impressions of the legendary rugby league commentator Eddie Waring and the popular Scottish TV presenter Fyfe Robertson , Oddie's frequent send-ups of the game-show host Hughie Green , and Cleese's occasional but manic impressions of Patrick Moore (astronomer and broadcaster) built these people into eccentric celebrities in a way that the Mike Yarwood , Rory Bremner , Spitting Image and Dead Ringers programmes did for other TV presenters with similar disrespect years later. As the only woman on the show, Jo Kendall voiced all the female characters (with the exception of Brooke-Taylor's oversexed harridan, Lady Constance de Coverlet) and demonstrated a tremendous range and versatility, which occasionally extended into having conversations with herself in different voices. Kendall also wrote some of her own material. She was the first female performer in British radio comedy to have (and deserve) equal top billing with male stars in a male-dominated series.

The show ended with an unchanging sign-off song, which Bill Oddie performed as "Angus Prune" and was referred to by the announcer as "The Angus Prune Tune". Spoof dramas were billed as Prune Playhouse and many parodies of commercial radio were badged as Radio Prune, but the name Angus Prune seemed as random and incidental as the name Monty Python, which appeared several years later. Although earlier BBC radio shows such as Much Binding in the Marsh , Take It From Here , and Beyond Our Ken had conditioned listeners to a mix of music, sketches and jokes in a 30-minute show, and Round the Horne was also doing this, ISIRTA accelerated the transitions, and it certainly seemed more improvised. It was one of those programmes where the listener was unlikely to get all the jokes on first hearing, so would have to listen to the scheduled repeat (or a tape recording) to discover what they had missed. It thus helped prepare the television audience for At Last the 1948 Show , Spike Milligan 's Q series, Monty Python's Flying Circus , and The Goodies .

It also may have influenced other spoof-based British radio programmes such as Radio Active , On the Hour , The Sunday Format , The News Huddlines , and later "Bleak Expectations". Several cast members have since appeared in the radio comedy panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue , a spinoff from ISIRTA that has outlived it by decades. Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden continue as regulars on the show. Episodes of ISIRTA have frequently been heard on BBC Radio 4 Extra (available on digital television, DAB digital radio and the web). Listeners in Australia occasionally find ISIRTA in the 5.30am vintage comedy timeslot on ABC Radio National (available on the web to overseas listeners). In 2015, plans were announced for a live "Best Of" homage show, using material by Garden and Oddie, and performed by Hannah Boydell, David Clarke, Barnaby Eaton-Jones, William KV Browne and Ben Perkins.

[4] The show was a sell-out success at The Bacon Theatre, Cheltenham (Feb 19th, 2016) and a tour has now been licensed by Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie to the same company which will be visiting theatres in late 2016. Catchphrases My name is Angus Prune And this is my tune It goes I-S-I-R-T-A I'm Sorry I'll Read That AGAIN!' Beethoven's Fifth . The famous opening bars of this piece of music are constantly used in the series, usually in inappropriate settings; their first appearance was in the first sketch of the pilot programme in 1963, and during an Opportunity Knocks spoof in the 3rd series Bill Oddie tries to tap-dance to them in what sound like hob-nailed boots. David Hatch once introduced the cast: "...with another of their sallies forth – (GRAMS: 'Da-da-da-dummmmm') – or Beethoven's Fifth –" On another occasion, the pre-show teaser was Beethoven, played by Brooke-Taylor, trying to get Bill Oddie, playing a very Jewish music publisher, to market the tune.

After hearing the tune, Oddie says: "That's a load of old rubbish!" and then twists the melody to form the opening sig. The closing bars of the final movement of the symphony were used to introduce a 'promenade concert' that featured "There was a Ship that put to Sea all in the Month of May" – Hatch says solemnly in his best BBC voice: "That was the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler. Now, while they're getting up ..." "The Ferret Song". John Cleese has an obsession with ferrets throughout the show, including his famous performance of "The Ferret Song". This song begins with the line "I've got a ferret sticking up my nose." The line is repeated, then: "How it got there I can't tell, but now it's there, it hurts like hell and, what is more, it radically affects my sense of smell," – and promptly gets even worse. The song, written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman , was included in The Fairly Incomplete and Rather Badly Illustrated Monty Python Song Book, accompanied by a picture of John with a Terry Jones -shaped ferret up his nose. The Silly Roll Call .

During many of the longer adventures, the cast engage in the Silly Roll Call, where a series of words appropriate to their adventure are turned into people's names. The " Jack the Ripper " story involves criminals such as "Mr. and Mrs. Ree ... and their son ... Robby Ree ... and his cousin from the Far East, Ahmed Robby Ree; Mr. and Mrs. Nee, their Swedish son Lars Nee .. and his sister Betty Lars Nee; and Mr. and Mrs. Sittingforimmoralpurposes...and their son...Solly Sittingforimmoralpurposes". In "Jorrocks", the Hunt Ball features appearances by "Lord and Lady V'syouyeahyeahyeah and their daughter Sheila V'syouyeahyeahyeah " as well as "Lord and Lady Umeeroffen and their son Duke Umeeroffen". Even the Ancient Greek world of Oedipus is not sacred – Socrates appears with Knobblyknees, Euripides with Iripadose, Antigone and Uncle-igone, and the treble of Aristophanes , Hoiteetoitees and Afternoonteas (as well as a barrage of rotten fruit).

The idea of the Silly Roll Call was revived in I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue , the final game of the show often being some variant of the " Late Arrivals (at a society ball) " where the same sort of "silly names" would be announced by each of the players in turn. The gibbon . Whenever a generic animal is required for a sketch, the team always used a gibbon. Every mention of the gibbon usually raises cheers from the audience. This is often expanded to ludicrous lengths, such as a "Gibbon-Fanciers' Club". Edward Gibbon 's famous Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is rendered as "Decline and Fall of the Roman Gibbon, by Edward Empire". Stanley Gibbons ' Stamp Catalogue became known as Stanley Stamps' Gibbon Catalogue.

Later, during The Goodies {'} heyday in the 1970s, Brooke-Taylor, Garden, and Oddie had a Top Ten hit with " Funky Gibbon ", which reached #4, and they sang live on Top of the Pops , and the Amnesty International show A Poke in the Eye (With a Sharp Stick) , and during The Goodies episode " The Goodies – Almost Live ". In The Goodies episode " That Old Black Magic ", Graeme Garden acts like an ape to the accompaniment of the Bill Oddie song "Stuff The Gibbon" — and in another Goodies episode, " Radio Goodies ", the small boat above their pirate radio submarine is called "The Saucy Gibbon". A track on Soft Machine 's Six album entitled "Stanley Stamp's Gibbon Album" is dedicated to Bill Oddie. The Terrapin , which appears occasionally. In one show, after a particularly macabre John Cleese monologue, Hatch sends him packing, whereupon the rest of the cast defect with Cleese and form Radio Terrapin in competition to Radio Prune.

In another show, Bill performs "The Terrapin Song", and on another show, Hatch announces a terrapin joke, as follows: (Garden) "Who was that Terrapin I saw you with last night?" (Brooke-Taylor) "That was no terrapin, that was our old school mistress – she tortoise (taught us)." Bill Oddie's accent. Having a Birmingham accent (although born in Rochdale in Lancashire, he grew up in Birmingham) made Oddie the butt of many jokes, as well as leading him naturally towards many roles in sketches where someone was required to speak incomprehensibly. He got his own back in the "Lawrence Of Arabia On Ice" sketch, when he appeared as Nanook of the North, complete with a plethora of cod-Lancastrian patois ("ee bah goom", "black puddings", "ecky thump", etc.) This became the basis for an episode of The Goodies where "Ecky Thump" was a secret Lancastrian martial art , the episode parodying the then-popular TV show Kung Fu . The Old Jokes Home.

The old jokes, of which there were many (see script below) were sometimes sent to the Old Jokes Home. 'Spot'. References to "a spot of brandy", "my favourite spot", etc., were usually followed by a canine yelp from Bill Oddie, attributed to "Spot the Dog". Spot became an audience favourite, and made at least one appearance in each episode. OBE . Characters often have OBE added to the end of their name. It is also added to places, objects and names, as well as an interruption, e.g. in "The Angus Prune (OBE) Song". The cast occasionally ask for one ("Thank you ma'am, I'll take the OBE if it's offered") or decline one that's been offered ("No thanks, I'm trying to give them up").

On one occasion, Hatch introduced the team as "Tim Brooke-Taylor, O.B.E., John Cleese, O.B.E., Graeme Garden, O.B.E., David Hatch, O.B.E., Jo Kendall, O.B.E., and Bill Oddie, O.D.D.I.E." On another occasion, in a send-up of the Honours List, Hatch announces that a particular person has been made an earl, and also has been awarded the OBE; he therefore becomes an earlobe (this joke was also used in The Goodies series seven episode " Royal Command "). Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie have since been awarded the OBE, but John Cleese declined a CBE in 1996. Episode and sketch titles The episode titles are unofficial and mostly come from the last sketch in each programme, which was usually the longest sketch. [5] "Ali Baba and the 38 Thieves" "Alice in Wonderland" is a character adopted by Bill Oddie to sing the playoff. Grimbling Voiced by Bill Oddie, Grimbling is a "dirty old man" who often appears as a groundsman, butler, or some similar profession.

Due to the limitations of an audio-only medium, the true nature of Grimbling is never revealed, but he is greeted with universal revulsion by all bar the audience. He memorably introduces himself in the 25th anniversary episode "I am Grimbling, but don't worry, I'll clean it up later." In the same episode, Cleese asks him "Aren't you a little past it, old man?" with the response, "No, I'm a little dirty old man". In the "Robin Hood" sketch in the 3rd series, Grimbling is in the employ of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Garden), who tells him, "You have done well, Grimbling; take this tennis racquet for your services". Lady Constance de Coverlet is a ridiculous female character played by Tim Brooke-Taylor . Lady Constance is usually introduced by a statement along the lines of "what is that coming towards us? – It's huge – It's a rhinoceros!" – "No, it's me!!!" and this is often accompanied by a rousing rendition of "Happy Days Are Here Again", and always by rousing cheers from the audiene.

Her size is legendary; in the "Henry VIII" sketch, Katharine of Aragon and Lady Constance (masquerading as Anne of Cleavage) fight a duel to decide who is to be Queen. Brooke-Taylor introduces her in the style of a boxing MC: "..and in the blue corner, at 15 hundredweight, your own, your very own – and there's enough to go round – twice -...". In the "Dentisti" sketch, a parody on the 1960s TV series Daktari , Lady Constance plays (appropriately) an elephant; and in "Jack The Ripper", Lady Constance is invited to: "please, sit down anywhere ... or in your case, everywhere". In the "Radio Prune Greek Tragedy" sketch, she plays the mother of Oedipus Rex – according to the Oracle, she was hoping for a dog – and she tells Oedipus: "Now let me get on with my housework, I've got a little behind .." (pause for the double-entendre to register) "..

oh all right, I've got a colossal behind!!" In the "Colditz" sketch, the lads' escape route is through the plug hole of her bath, and Bill Oddie exclaims "She's like a ruddy great iceberg: one eighth above the water, 76 eighths below!". She also in her own way is a bit of a nymphomaniac – she's described in the 25th anniversary show version of "Jack The Ripper" as a steaming volcano of eroticism – and there are frequent references to unfulfilled sexual desire: in the "3.17 to Cleethorpes" sketch, she and the other players in the drama are adrift on a raft in the ocean; Lady Constance offers to take all her clothes off and use them for a sail, and when Hatch says, "Yes, and then what?", Lady Constance replies, "Well, that's rather up to you ...." Mr Arnold Totteridge Another famous recurring character, Arnold Totteridge (played by Garden) is a doddering old man who gets lost in the middle of his sentences.

He invariably begins with: "How do you do, do you do, do you do...do you?" and after rambling incoherently for a few minutes returns to where he started. His most famous moment is in the 25th anniversary episode, where he has been appointed "The Dynamic new-de-oo-do-de-oo-do-de-oo Head of Radio-do-do-de-do Comedy" John and Mary John Cleese and Jo Kendall frequently performed poignant – almost romantic – dialogues as the respectable but dysfunctional couple "John and Mary", a forerunner of the relationship between Basil and Sybil in Fawlty Towers . They bear a passing resemblance to Fiona and Charles of Round the Horne . Masher Wilkins A kind-hearted simpleton (played by John Cleese), who often appears as an unlikely villain or henchman. He is prone to malapropisms: "I've been trailing you through this impenetrable ferret-- I mean 'forest'" - but these are often the intro to clever running jokes - in this case the line continues: "Oh no, not ferret, I mean stoat". "Stoat?" "Yes, 'stoatally impenetrable".

At some point, a female character would often call out "Oh, Masher, Masher!" - followed by a chorus of "All fall down!" by the remaining cast. In one show, the topic on The Money Programme is fiscal policy and other matters monetary, and Masher asks some very abstruse questions about the Bank of England and its role in the economy. His last question, however is: 'An' wot's the combination o' de safe: oooh wot a giveaway!!' Prune Plays Writers and cast in order of appearance: Robin Hood h2g2 - Great Radio Shows - Edited Entry Great Radio Shows Content from the guide to life, the universe and everything Great Radio Shows 66 Conversations While the golden age of radio may have gone, it is by no means forgotten. In its heyday, before the mass production of TV sets, radio was the link for everyday families with the wider world. Not only did it fulfil its remit of 'Entertaining, Educating and Informing', it surpassed it. But this week we are focussing on entertainment.

While we all know that The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the greatest radio show ever, it is by no means the only one. Indeed we already have a number of entries on individual shows that can be found via the link at the bottom of this page. But this entry is about commemorating some of the others, the ones that might have slipped through the cracks in history, or simply those that haven't been written about much. So, without further ado, let's start with... The Shadow Who knows what evil lies in the hearts of men...? ...The Shadow knows! One of the first ever 'superhero' shows, The Shadow was also one of the most atmospheric radio shows of the 1930s and '40s. Originally just a mysterious voice that popped up to introduce the latest thrillers, the character eventually emerged as a star in his own right. Though a film version was released in the 1990s starring Alec Baldwin, the visuals can't hope to compete with those conjured by radio.

If you get the chance to hear the show (and the above link will give you a helping hand), the show is often entertaining for a modern ear as much for its advertising sponsorships as the drama itself ('The Shadow - sponsored by Blue Coal, America's finest anthracite.'). H... ancock's Half Hour An accepted comedy great , Tony Hancock started off as a radio performer before jumping over to television and film. [Hancock's] timing was absolutely superb. It's so difficult to name a favourite episode (and I haven't heard all of them yet), but I do have a soft spot for the 'Twelve Angry Men' episode, as well as for the 'East Cheam Drama Festival' ('more tea anyone?'), although possibly the 'Unexploded Bomb' trumps these. Well I could go on and on... Surprising for fans of the TV show is the presence of Kenneth Williams, Hancock's original stooge before he was replaced by Sid James. Though Hancock's face told a thousand stories, on the radio, the listener is forced to really focus on his voice, where his real art was most evident.

Mrs Dale's Diary Before Home & Away, before EastEnders, before 24, this was the series that had a nation hooked. Definitely worth asking your parents/grandparents about, if only to see their bemused expression. When I was a child I remember the radio being on for most of the day( it was a big Phillips radio with lots of knobs that my father constantly twiddled to get the best reception possible - he wouldn't let anyone else touch it). Trying to remember what we listened to, the one programme that comes to mind is Mrs Dale's Diary. It featured [former singing star] Jessie Matthews as Mrs Dale and was set in London. I don't remember very much about it because I don't suppose it was very interesting for a seven year old. However, I do remember that I wasn't allowed to speak while it was on because I think it was one of my mother's favourite programmes. The Navy Lark Post-war Britain had an understandable fascination and admiration for the armed forces for decades. It's for good reason that the first Carry On... film was about National Service and the late Queen Mother's favourite TV show was Dad's Army.

The Navy Lark was a raucous radio comedy that featured some of Britain's best-loved comic actors, including Michael Bates, Leslie Phillips and future Doctor Who Jon 'Man of a Thousand Voices' Pertwee. The show's still fondly remembered today, and has even tickled the funny bones of people who weren't even born when the show first aired, as this Researcher shows: The antics of the crew of HMS Troutbridge still have me in stitches: the silly ass Sub-lieutenant Leslie Phillips whose 'Left hand up a bit' naval directions got him in and out of trouble; Chief Petty Officer Jon Pertwee was always on the fiddle and who also had relatives strategically placed around the world to help in the fiddles, such as 'Uncle Ebeneezer'; and the permanently bemused 'Number One' Stephen Murray whose job it was to keep an eye on everyone and to keep the ship afloat.

Also making regular appearances were the gin-swilling Admiral Ffont-Bittocks whose catch phrase of 'Get out of me blasted way' was much repeated in our house; Captain 'Thunderguts' Povey, the bane of the crew's life and the regular 'fall guy', was 'hen-pecked' by his 'Dear Wife Ramona' a right battleaxe; Able Seaman 'Fatso' Johnson (played by Ronnie Barker) was CPO Pertwee's much put-upon right-hand man; and 'His Mum Min's' favourite son, Leading Seaman 'Taffy' Goldstein the Starboard Lookout, Radio's first Welsh Separatist; and Wren Heather Chasen, the love of Sub Lt Phillips' life and 'Fix it' girl, plus many others that I've bound to have forgotten... Round the Horne Hello. I'm Julian, and this is my friend Saaandy... As with The Fast Show or Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in but without the pictures, the regular characters that popped up in Round the Horne have passed into legend. The principle performers were Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee.

Kenneth Horne was really the 'straight' man who played himself and let the others 'mess about' around him. One of my earliest memories is of listening to the 'Light Programme' on the radio (or 'wireless' as we called it in those days) on Sunday afternoons, when there would be two comedy programmes back-to-back. The Clitheroe Kid and The Navy Lark were two firm favourites, but the ones that I enjoyed most were Beyond Our Ken and Round the Horne. Looking back now, I mustn't have really understood the double-entendres of Julian and Sandy, or Rambling Sid Rumpo, but the whole thing just appealed to my sense of silliness. Kenneth Horne's deep distinguished voice glued the whole thing together seamlessly. Even the character names raised a smile: J Peasemould Gruntfuttock; Dame Celia Molestrangler and Binky Huckaback; Chou En Ginsberg, Seamus Android and Daphne Whitethigh.

Between them Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden, Bill Pertwee conjured up all these and more, while Douglas Smith provided the links in his best BBC voice and also the occasional sound effect ('Phut, phut, phut' for the engine aboard African Queen). Subjects were often close to the censors' limits but always managed to avoid overstepping the mark. There were four series with a fifth planned when Kenneth Horne died of a heart attack in 1969. The fifth went ahead without him, being renamed 'Stop Messing About' led by Kenneth Williams, but for many listeners it just wasn't the same. Bill Pertwee is the only surviving member of the Round the Horne cast, but happily there are many recordings available. Like The Navy lark, the show has found a new audience thanks to these timeless releases: Oh, yes, I'm too young to have listened to it on the radio but I have tapes! I adore Julian and Sandy, their use of polari is fabulous and so cheeky. The censors just can't have realised... ...Interesting point about the censors.

I'm not sure that they didn't understand, but someone somewhere missed the point, that is for certain. It is perhaps telling that the management of the BBC at the time still wouldn't allow Spike Milligan to use military slang (Hampton Wick was always rejected for The Goons, finally to be allowed by The Two Ronnies in the mid- 1970 s), but appear to have missed the outrageous 'showbiz' antics of Julian and Sandy. I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again The show that first brought together The Goodies - Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Garden and Bill Oddie, along with David Hatch, John Cleese and Jo Kendall. The show's music was written by Bill Oddie and played by Dave Lee and the boys (boys!), including the immortal 'Ferret Song' and 'Stuff the Gibbon'. Angus Prune was the Python-esque background figure for the show, and the star character was Lady Constance, a man-eating upper-class battleaxe who made regular appearances at unexpected moments. If you ever get the chance, listen to the Angus Prune team's rendition of Macbeth - it's magnificent, and gave birth to at least three new puns.

Sadly the show was superseded by Hello Cheeky, with Tim Brooke Taylor, John Junkin and Barry Cryer, which gave rise to the immortal ballad 'The Love Song to Agnes' ('I've fallen for a girl called Agnes, and nothing rhymes with that..'). Dead Ringers Every generation needs an impressionist. In the 1970s it was Mike Yarwood. In the '80s, Bobby Davro. Now though, the vibe is more for groups of impressionists working together. One of the best ensemble teams has to be Dead Ringers on Radio 4. Starring Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravers, Mark Perry and Kevin Connelly, the show has won many awards and, like many of the best radio ideas, has made the transition to television: On the TV, it has to be aimed to get as many viewers as possible so it loses out on some of the more esoteric stuff - like the Newsnight Review doing Dr Seuss. Then again maybe it is just because the costumes and make-up can never be as good as the imagination. What makes this show so memorable is the way the regulars pose as their characters and then take them into the real world.

For example, listeners have been treated to Doctor Who phoning a DIY store and warning them that dustbins, rear indicator car-lamps and sink plungers can be used to create one of the most deadly creatures in the Universe - a dalek ! Radio One DJs When the pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline were finally closed down, the BBC had a choice: continue with the same middle-class broadcasting that had caused the outbreak of pirate radio stations in the first place; or set up their own station for 'modern' pop music. The result was Radio 1, which took on many of the personalities that had broadcasted on the pirate stations in the first place. One of the best-loved of these was an overly-energetic loony from Liverpool. Kenny Everett A radio genius whose personality had no problem reaching through the electronic medium of Radio, Kenny Everett was not a disk jockey but he had a wonderful turn of phrase that made you listen. Redefining the meaning of the word 'wacky' by several dimensions, his alter egos of Captain Kremen, and Sebastian were truly brilliant. Though he became a huge TV star in the 1980 s, he returned to radio for the last few years of his life.

His death in 1995 of an AIDS -related illness robbed British broadcasting of a unique talent. John Peel Another stalwart of early pop-picking was the laconic, late and very much lamented John Peel . Though he rarely sounded anything other than bored on the 'enthusiometer', his passion for and knowledge of music was unparalleled. I know that others will write about the John Peel show, and its incredible influence on British music all the way down through the decades from the late 1960s to the present day. No one will have listened to every period, but I think many will have listened for a few years and been strongly influenced. Well my busy period was through the early 1980s until about 1990. During that time, his playlist pretty much became my 'wants list' down at my local independent record store. The thing that I most looked forward to each year was Peel's Festive 50 over the Christmas and New Year period. What he'd do was to ask us to write in with our favourite tracks of the previous year and he would put them into a top 50 chart to be played during his show.

The chart through the mid '80s was naturally dominated by The Smiths, The Fall, Jesus & Mary Chain and The Cocteau Twins - four very fine bands. I would compare the chart as it came out to my record collection - I told you his show was my wants list - well I think it was 1984 when I would have turned 18, that I found that I had in one format or another 40 of the 50 records in that year's chart! Oh happy days... Mark and Lard The incontestable Mark and Lard currently occupy the early afternoon slot on Radio 1. Mark Radcliffe and Lard (former member of the band The Fall, also known as Marc Riley) are, according to one Researcher: ... bastions of quality tunes on a station often overrun by dance and hip-hop during the daylight hours. They are also funny as hell. The sheer genius of Fat Harry White has yet to be bettered in the field of ludicrously extended double entendres, and their timing is immaculate. They are both (self-confessed) ugly middle-aged men, which is always refreshing.

My studenthood and early working career was soundtracked by Mark and Lard, and I salute them, because I know they like it. One of their most popular segments is their imaginatively varied quizzes: Craptown Factor - is it a real place, or made up? Bird or Bloke - is this celebrity male or female? Pigment or Figment - is it a real paint colour, or made up? Dobbins or Bobbins - is it a real racehorse, or made up? The Spice is Right - answer questions and win Indian food. Family Fortune Cookies - answer questions and win Chinese food. Wheel of Misfortune - answer a question on a randomly chosen subject from the wheel. Circle of Chance - answer a question on a randomly chosen subject from the circle. ... and many, many more. Chris Moyles Chris Moyles' show on Radio One follows on from the Marks at 3pm each weekday afternoon. Brash, aggressive and regularly rude to guests and callers alike, this rotund Yorkshireman is not to everyone's tastes, but many agree he provides a much-needed alternative to the many bland DJs around.

The whole gang of them (Chris, Comedy Dave, Will and Aled) get on really well, and it shows in the on-air banter. You almost end up wishing they'd play less music, because the bits in-between are so funny. Then there are the parodies of songs. Who could ever forget 'Totally Addicted to Plaice (Fishy-wishy)' or 'Fat DJ' (to the tune of 'Rock DJ')? Chris Moyles' website is one of the most popular on Radio 1 online, thanks in part to the section where you can listen to his best bits. I have listened to them all and can particularly recommend 'WWwwwWWwWw' and 'Happy Days' - try and see if you can listen to them without collapsing in hysterics - I couldn't! As ever, there are some dissenting voices: I don't know about Chris Moyles. Some days I find him and the banter really funny, some days he just seems to delight in insulting people and being rude, which isn't that funny at all. But I wouldn't have missed 'Totally Addicted to Plaice' for anything!

Car Talk Broadcast by NPR (National Public Radio) in the USA, Car Talk is a funny show that features call-in questions from listeners about - you guessed it - cars. Featuring a pair of brothers from Boston - Tom and Ray Magliozzi - the show has been aired nationally since 1987. The pair have obviously got a great relationship and enjoy poking fun at each other as they try to solve listeners' car troubles. For example: A guy calls in and says his car makes a noise when he turns left. At first they'll ask him if he needs to turn left and then they begin to get really silly, asking the caller to imitate the sound. They eventually get serious and will offer a possible explanation and solution to solve the problem, urging the caller to call back if they're right. Yes, very funny and very entertaining (although in the worst-case senario they are reduced to laughing on air, live, for most of the show, because they love their own jokes as much as we do), but the bottom line is that they know the answers, and they solve the problem (nearly every time).

Aside from all the kidding and nonsense, they know their stuff, and if you are really interested in the problem at hand, and if you really listen to their solution, you get the right answer. These guys are great! I dare you to listen without laughing out loud. By the way, they may be Tom and Ray, but we know them fondly as 'Click and Clack' (the tappet brothers). The Shipping Forecast No, really! here are just a few reasons why this 'somnolent invocation of geography that lulls an island to sleep on a nightly basis' is so adored by the British. Like the deep sounding seconds of an old grandfather clock, it brings comfort to the psyche. Like all good things, it risks being taken for granted. But if it stopped, then it would be noticed, and the sleepless masses would very probably rise up to revolution instead of breakfast. ... I still miss Finisterre . ... It's obvious in hindsight but the mantra of shipping areas is performed in an orderly clockwise progression around the British Isles. I was ever so pleased when I first saw the areas in the atlas and realised I could sing them out in order.

Having just found the right page in the atlas again I'm even happier to see that it's old enough to have German Bight and Finisterre on it. Some people of course just don't see what all the fuss is about... ... I always wonder just how many people genuinely depend on the shipping forecast, and how important it is for the forecast to be regularly broadcast. In the 21st Century it would be much easier to have an online shipping forecast that ships could access, or relegate it to some digital radio backwater and free up some expensive Radio Four airtime. It also seems a bit odd that so much airtime on an FM radio station is devoted to such small minority - something like a one minute road delays broadcast would seem to benefit the majority of Radio Four's listeners much more than shipping information, for example. This has lead me to conclude that while very few people actually understand the forecast and even fewer require it, it has become a traditional yet relatively pointless institution that only avoids cancellation because of popular opinion. Dr Poo?

We're reliably informed that the now-national youth broadcaster, 2JJJ Radio started life in Sydney as an AM station, Double J, with the then-contentious 'You Just Like Me 'cause I'm Good in Bed' by Skyhooks. Later, the station introduced a regular morning radio play called Dr Poo... This was an outrageous affair ... a highlight of any week. I once won a Dr Poo plastic toilet toy - I had to go into the studio to pick up. How exciting was that for a yet-to-be funky 14-year-old? Canada's CBC Radio Canada's public broadcaster, and, we're told, the finest news organization in the country, is responsible for a several great radio shows. The first that springs to mind for one Researcher is the late and lamented Morningside with the similarly late and very lamented Peter Gzowski. The show ran weekday mornings from 9am to noon, from 1982 to 1997, and featured everything from hard-hitting interviews with Prime Ministers to hard-hitting interviews with housewives and schoolkids. Gzowski had a great face for radio, as his attempts at television proved, but the radio show was pure brilliance.

The show's specialty was bringing together listeners or guests from all over the country, including the high arctic to discuss issues of the day, favourite recipes, Christmas memories - you name it. Another great long-running show on CBC has been The Royal Canadian Air Farce, a topical sketch-comedy show heavy on political satire and blessed with a number of excellent mimic. The cast of Dave Broadfoot, Roger Abbot, Luba Goy, John Morgan and Don Ferguson (Broadfoot left in the 1980s) were usually recorded live at theatres around the country, then broadcast on Sundays from 1973 to 1997. They moved to television ten years ago and are still going strong. The Masterson Inheritance A hugely popular radio show, The Masterson Inheritance was made for Radio 4 in the early 1990s. Some of the three series made have also been repeated on BBC7. It starred Josie Lawrence, Phelam McDermott, Paul Merton, Caroline Quentin, Lee Simpson and Jim Sweeney, who all improvised a variety of characters through a historical drama based entirely on suggestions from the studio audience.

Each episode would be from a different period in history, from ancient Rome to the war-torn Crimea and would tell the tale of members of the Masterson family and those who knew them. The sound effects were also improvised live and, with the wit and originality of the protagonists, the whole effect really did prove that the pictures are better on the radio. Radio Tirana News And now, here is the news... from Tirana: Around 1980 I was camping by a lake on Vancouver Island. Someone had lent me a short wave radio and one night as I twiddled the dial I came across a propaganda broadcast from Peru on behalf of the Shining Path movement. The Maoist stuff was being spouted by a couple of Australians. Odd, I thought, but I was hooked. When I got back to London I bought a short wave set for myself. I tried all the stuff I thought might amuse me - Radio Moscow: 'Hey Svetlana, that was a pretty cool waxing by pop-combo Beatles Band' 'That's right Ivan, here now for beloved listeners in West, Bruce Springsteen pop band song.' ... and so on.

It wasn't until I hit on Radio Tirana that I struck gold: 'Tractor production in plant 14 has increased by 9 per cent in the last quarter - congratulations dear workers. In Area 17, the grain output is up by one fifth compared with last year - our heartfelt thanks to our comrades.' It was like running through congealing porridge, but with the rousing Albanian national anthem to look forward to at the end. Nobody broadcasts like this anymore (a great shame), with the possible exception of late night local radio phone ins ('I'm a cab driver John, and I want to tell you just how much I agree with what I read in the Daily Mail today.'). 'Open Line', Radio Forth Another local broadcast, Open Line is broadcast on Saturday evenings from 11pm - 2am in the East Central Scotland area. It is an 'agony aunt'-style forum where listeners call in for advice, help or just a shoulder to cry on. The host is a Catholic priest, Father Andrew Monaghan, or Andy as he is known on air.

The programme has been on air for 24 years, and although the responses are from a slightly Catholic viewpoint, Andy has helped a large number of people throughout his time on the programme. When the programme first aired, it was not known that Andy was a priest, which meant that people could relate to him more. When the cat was let out of the bag though, people accepted him and still could approach him, because they didn't see him as 'A N Other Church Leader'. Nowadays there tends to be two types of caller. There are those who see him as a priest and ask for prayers, and there are those who just see him as a guy who can lend a helping hand. Not only does Andy give support, but other listeners phone in to tell their stories, and offer support in that way. The Open Line helps a large number of people and gives good advice. It is also a great stabiliser. It really makes you realise that your problems in this life are not as bad as they might be.

Le Show This is a weekly show by Harry Shearer (either the man behind several voices on The Simpsons , or the bass player with the foil-covered cucumber down his trousers in This is Spinal Tap, depending on how old you are...) broadcast from KCRW in Santa Monica every Sunday, and also available as streaming-on-demand . It mostly consists of the spoken word, a weird combination of some really strange (and occasionally wonderful) music, and 'copyrighted features' such as 'Tales of Airport Security' and 'Apology of the Week'. If you don't think any Americans understand irony, this could be the programme to change your mind. Firesign Theater This became a Los Angeles cult success story in the late 1960s and early '70s with a program called Radio Free Oz. Innovative and improvisational, Firesign Theater starred Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Phil Proctor, and for a time it played irregularly on a network of FM broadcast stations around the USA at a time where there was more freedom and outright rebellion in the media.

Best described as an American version of Monty Python only on better drugs, they reached a wider audience through recordings such as 'Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him', 'Don't Crush that Dwarf - Hand me the Pliers', and 'I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus', as well as the popular 'Nick Danger - Third Eye' detective series. They are enjoying a bit of a comeback nowadays and are appearing on a satellite radio station for the first time in 35 years. Fear on 4 For those of you who appreciated an untroubled sleep and missed this series, Fear on 4 ran intermittently on Radio 4 from 1988 to 1997. About 48 episodes were made of this series, each being a self-contained story linked to the others only by the scheduling slot (late at night - what else?) and the presenter, Edward de Sousa, otherwise known as the 'Man in Black' 1 . Many of these dramatisations were drawn from classic tales (such as 'The Yellow Wallpaper') but there were several originally commissioned pieces that haunted the listener. My own particular sleep-ruiner was the 'Life Line' episode.

In this one, a disturbed young man's girlfriend commits suicide. He seeks solace on late night chat lines, until, one day, he hears a familiar voice on the other end of the line, a girl describing the view from the top of a cliff at night time... The quality of the production, the acting, the scripting was all top-notch, and showed exactly what a powerful medium radio can be when coupled with an over-active imagination. If you can get your hands on the series on tape, then I'd suggest listening to it in the dark around midnight for best effect. If not, then half-a-pound of Stilton should have the same effect. Something Missing? As we mentioned at the start, there are many entries on h2g2 on individual shows, but if there are any others you can think of, feel free to chat about them in the Conversations below. 1 Recreating a character that was originally played in the 1940s and '50s by Valentine Dyall.

Question: The title of which radio programme of the 1960s and 1970s always ended with the song ‘My name is Angus Prune and I always listen to ....................................’?
Answer: I’M SORRY, I’LL READ THAT AGAIN